Collaborations
PNNL actively develops collaborations and partnerships to strengthen the science of biomarkers and the application of scientific discovery. If your organization is interested in a collaboration and partnership in biomarkers, we encourage you to contact us.
We pull together working teams with mutually compatible strengths to the benefit of research programs that cross organizations. Teams are addressing biosignature discovery techniques, pattern discovery and visualization, and methods to deploy validated biomarkers. We are interested in teaming with those that have large sample sets with unique questions that fall into the focus areas described under this program. Examples of a joint multidisciplinary research programs include:
- Arizona State University (ASU)
- Battelle's Medical Research Evaluation Facility
- Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute (JGI)
- National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
- Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI)
- University of Arizona
- University of Washington (UW)
Arizona State University (ASU)
PNNL continues its relationship with Arizona State University in the development and deployment of the 3-D culture system at PNNL, which incorporates cell lines relevant to human infection. This site also provides access to BSL-3 facilities as necessary.
Contact: Tim Straub
Battelle's Medical Research Evaluation Facility (MREF)
PNNL is teaming with Battelle's Medical Research Evaluation Facility (MREF) to extend biosignature discovery studies in biological agents using a common pathogen model. PNNL has investigated in-house a non-pathogenic strain of Francisella, and through the MREF collaboration, sterilized biological samples derived from pathogenic strains of Francisella were made available. This enabled PNNL's work with microbes of direct interest to national security and homeland defense.
Contact: Dave Wunschel
Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute (JGI)
The Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute is sequencing approximately 5 megabases (Mb) of Columbia River periphyton complex communities (microbiota) as a part of the Laboratory Sequencing Program.
Contact: Jon Magnuson
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
PNNL is teaming with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health to apply and integrate conventional toxicity assessment with proteomic and genomic assessment of pulmonary response to single walled carbon nanotubes to advance biomarker based risk assessment of nanomaterials.
Contact: Justin Teeguarden
Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI)
Teaming with ONAMI's Safer Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Initiative (SNNI) we are investigating the interaction of defined gold nanoparticles with alveolar type II epithelial cells grown in culture. Individual gold nanoparticles, engineered to carry specific functional groups on their surface, are introduced to the cell and their interaction, internalization pathway and cellular fate are delineated using single-molecule fluorescence imaging techniques.
Contact: Galya Orr
University of Arizona
Through PNNL's affiliation with the University of Arizona, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, fiber evanescent-wave/attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy has been used to conduct in situ IR spectral monitoring of cellular response mechanisms associated with particulate matter exposure in lung tissue. Resolving cellular changes in the nanoscale range in response to toxic stressors is key to identifying and validating biomarkers.
Contact: S.K. Sundaram
University of Washington (UW)
PNNL scientists have worked with the University of Washington to obtain biological samples from animals exposed to bioagents, for use in developing biosignature discovery methodologies. This partnership also offered specialized training for PNNL staff in biocontainment research, including work in the UW's new BSL-3 high containment facility. Several of the PNNL scientists are engaged directly with their UW partners.
Contact: Joel Pounds